Courage is a Muscle
/What do you long for that simultaneously terrifies you?
The days grow shorter as we begin the descent towards the underworld of Fall. If the cycles of nature parallel the process of human development, the abundance of Summer is about strength training for the underworld shadowlands of Fall, where we meet our own mortality, coming face to face with our inner demons. While the benefits of our moving meditation practice are extensive, at it’s heart, our practice is about strength building for the inner battle between love and fear.
Warrior poses are foundational in yoga. Vira can be translated not only as a hero or warrior but as a guardian or protector. The yogic warrior doesn’t fight for the sake of fighting, her role is to guard that which is most sacred. Vira is the divine solar masculine part of us that will stop at nothing to support and protect that which is most holy and innocent - the healing, creativity, and presence of our inner lunar feminine nature - our soul.
The journey of the warrior is to travel deep within, to hradya, the cave of the heart.
Training for Fearlessness
Great beings model what’s possible for us when we are anchored in the heart.
Alex Honnold, the world’s greatest free solo rock climber stares death in the face again and again, becoming the first human to scale giants like Half Dome, El Capitan, and countless others without rope, harness, partner - without anything but his will and body.
I used to be terrified of teaching yoga! It called to me yet I resisted for years after being certified. once I’d finally given in, I’d hyperventilate, panic and nearly throw up before walking into class but something pushed me on! It took many years of employing stress relief breathing practices before and during teaching but this weekend I joyfully taught to a festival of 5,000 in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Practice shapes the brain for fearlessness!
Not only is he famous for his record-setting fearlessness, he's also known for the sexy photographs of his amygdala- the center of the brain that registers fear. MRI brain scans reveal that Honnold has little to no activity in this area of his brain when faced with frightening experiences and images.
Yet he remembers all too well the sweaty palms, racing thoughts, and nausea, hyperventilating as he clung to rock for dear life during his first free climbs. He practiced and practiced, he fell, he failed, he got back on the mountain.
Over time he became an expert at calming his breath, steadying his heartbeat, visualizing his goal, and meeting fear with friendliness. Now, his brain barely registers fear as a possibility. Reference.
Expert meditators show similar activity in the amygdala region. Reference.
Meditation Shapes the Brain
MRI scans show that after an eight-week course of mindfulness practice, the brain's “fight or flight” center, the amygdala, appears to shrink and the pre-frontal cortex – associated with higher order functions of concentration and decision-making – becomes thicker. Reference.
We are all in the process of awakening. During this process we experience alternating states of fear and power.
Self knowledge as a lifestyle brings us up against some pretty bleak and desolate inner landscapes. As we come face to face with our own loneliness, insecurity, addiction, the ways we shut down and close our hearts, the ways we hide who we truly are - we travel deeper and deeper into the cave of the heart.
When we stay awake instead of numbing out, when we meet the shadow with kindness, accepting and integrating more and more of ourselves - messiness and all - we experience an increasing sense of wholeness, aliveness, freedom and living on purpose. Over time our brain takes the shape of this kindness and freedom.
Love + Fear: The Universal Battle
Instead of the loaded categories of good and evil we might more productively conceptualize the polarities of existence as love and fear.
Our inner world is a battle ground where the forces of love and fear meet again and again. If we are brave enough to be awake for this meeting, love wins every time.
In Aikido, a martial art from Japan, instead of fighting against, we use the force of our opponent’s strike, moving with it to disarm them. The goal of Aikido isn’t to defeat your opponent but to collectively reach a place of mutual respect and harmony where we collectively realize that fighting is no longer relevant.
The great Buddhist nun Pema Chodron suggests that the root of spiritual practice is about running up against the scary, unknown and vulnerable places within ourselves - our trauma, our sensitivity, our shame, impatience and self-judgment, feeling it and continuing to stay present versus numbing out, running away, getting angry or whatever our pattern.
At Body-Mind Freedom we move with the creative current while meeting whatever arises inside with increased awareness of our breath and the immediate sensations of our body, building stamina for presence.
The root of your heart is fearless because all that exists there is love. No fear can stand in the way of you saying ‘yes’ to your highest potential.
I used to be terrified of teaching yoga.
What used to be terrifying but has now become easeful and joyful as a result of practicing with commitment and courage?
Share below to celebrate your bravery and its many benefits.
Check our yoga rituals to see how you could hone your courage through fitness, relaxation and embodied meditation.